Hidden Talents
by SupernaturalGeek
Summary: A relatively straightforward haunting leads to an unusual situation for Dean.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's note: So this one is for Joey, whose birthday it is tomorrow! Happy birthday – hope you enjoy the story! I'll try not to be too long with the next chapter... ;)_

"I am NOT doing it!"

Sam sighed and closed his eyes. They'd been arguing about this for the last hour and they were still no nearer to a solution. And judging by Dean's escalating temper they weren't about to get any closer.

"Look, come on Dean. We got no choice, man. We need to get into the competition to find out what the hell is happening and this is the only way. I mean it's not like you'll actually have to go through to the final or anything – I'm sure we can deal with whatever it is way before then. It's not that bad, really." he said as calmly as possible.

Dean fixed him with a glare, "Not that bad? Yeah, for you maybe. You won't have to do it! I said no, and I mean it Sam – end of story."

Sam threw up his hands in frustration. "Fine. You're right, lets just forget it. Leave this one to someone else and move on. I mean, what's one more death? It's not our problem."

"That's low, Sam. You know I don't want anyone else to die but this isn't fair."

"You're the one who always tells me life isn't fair, remember?" said Sam and Dean looked like he was ready to shoot him with the gun he was cleaning far more vigorously than necessary.

Uneasy silence descended and Sam ran his hands through his hair. He could see Dean's point of view, really he could, but what choice did they have? No way Sam could volunteer with the cast on his arm.

Dean fumed as he polished the weapon in his hand, despite the fact it was so clean you could have eaten off of it. If using a gun as a plate was your thing of course. He was mad at the whole situation, which in fairness wasn't Sam's fault. Although if his brother had been a little faster on his feet and a little less clumsy he wouldn't be sporting the cast on his wrist which meant Dean was the only sucker who could actually do this one.

He was actually contemplating breaking a limb of his own, just to even things up.

Sam glanced at Dean and tried to think how he was going to get round his brother on this one. When they'd first spotted the job they'd assumed they'd be able to check it out in their usual way. They'd soon discovered unfortunately that security surrounding the competition was far tighter than anything they'd encountered before, and the only way one of them was gonna get anywhere near where the action was would be to enter. Which of course lead to their current dilemma.

Dean looked up and saw Sam watching him. He rolled his eyes.

"It's no good giving me the puppy dog eyes, Sam. We don't even know this is anything supernatural. It could just be some psycho with a thing against this sort of stuff. Which, by the way, I would totally agree with. I mean could you get anymore lame for crying out loud?"

It was Sam's turn to roll his eyes now. "It's not lame Dean, it's just not your thing. It takes a lot of skill you know. Is that what you're worried about? That you won't be any good at it?"

Dean snorted. "Nice try, but I'm not falling for the whole reverse psychology thing Dr Phil. And by the way, I'd be awesome at it I'll have you know."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Oh really? That's a pretty sweeping statement from someone who – to my knowledge – has never done anything like this. Unless you've been holding out on me that is?"

Dean threw the cloth he was using on the gun at Sam's head. Sam ducked it easily and just smirked, clearly implying he was waiting for an answer.

"I don't have to have done it before to know I'd be awesome. Some things you just know."

Sam shook his head. "I know you're full of crap, Dean. If you're so convinced you'd ace this, why don't you prove it?"

Dean looked at him. "I'm not a kid you know – that whole 'I dare you to do it' thing is not gonna work on me, Sam."

Sam just looked at him, his expression innocent. "What? I wasn't daring you, I was just saying. If you're too scared.."

"I am NOT scared. And I'm not falling for this so just give it up little brother." said Dean firmly.

Sam shrugged. "Well, if you've got a better idea."

Dean fumed. The trouble was, he didn't. There really was only one way to find out what was killing the competitors and he couldn't just walk away from a job. John Winchester had raised him better than that.

He was however gonna make Sam pay for this. Just as soon as he'd worked out something hideous enough for the purpose.

Throwing the gun down on the bed he shook his head in disgust.

"Fine! Looks like it's down to me to take care of things – AGAIN." he said.

"Hey! It's not my fault I broke my wrist, Dean." said Sam indignantly and Dean snorted.

"It's your fault you tripped over those freaky ass legs of yours. I swear you were just trying to get out of the hard stuff - I'm not gonna forget this you know."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Whatever. If you're done with the hysterics shall we go get you signed up for the competition?"

Dean glared at him. "If you EVER tell anyone about this Sam, I swear to God, I will hurt you."

Sam just grabbed his jacket, ignoring the muttered words. He knew Dean would never actually do him bodily harm so it was a pretty empty threat. Although as he caught sight of Dean's expression as he followed him out of the room, he wasn't quite as sure about that suddenly.

Deciding he should really try and make things a little better for his brother, especially as it was partly his fault he couldn't help much with this one, he tried to put a positive spin on things.

"Look, it's not gonna be that bad. You might even enjoy it."

Dean looked at him as if Sam had just suggested that he might enjoy listening to Country music.

"Are you insane? How the hell am I gonna enjoy it? It's a friggin _dance_ competition Sam!"

_Author's note: Yes, I am an evil woman.. Dean in a dance competition – can't you just picture it? LOL! TBC..._


	2. Chapter 2

It had taken far less time than Sam had expected to enrol for the '15th Annual Dance Extravaganza'. Dean had managed to dredge up the necessary amount of charm to get himself on the list, despite not having a dance partner. The woman they had spoken to – who looked as if she'd volunteer for the job in a heartbeat – had said they had an unexpected opening as one of the male dancers had fallen down some stairs and broken his ankle. Dean was due to meet his new partner and start learning the required routines later that day.

The walk back from the arena had been as stonily silent as the walk there. Sam didn't dare say anything, knowing he was on decidedly shaky ground with Dean in such a foul mood. And however amusing he found the whole situation – and he was only human after all – he did have some sense of self-preservation and wouldn't dream of giving Dean any hint whatsoever of that.

Back in the motel room Dean decided to give the Impala a good going over to work out some of his frustration, and Sam wisely left him to it. Sitting back on one of the beds Sam put on the TV and after some flicking managed to find a half decent wildlife documentary.

When Dean finally came back in, leaving behind a gleaming car, Sam looked up and couldn't help grinning.

"What?" said Dean with a frown, daring Sam to make some comment about the impending embarrassment he was facing.

"Nothing. I was just watching this documentary about lions. Did you know they hunt Impalas? They're small deer." said Sam, looking far too innocent.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Of course I know they're small deer, Sam. I'm not an idiot."

Sam shrugged. "I never said you were. It just got me thinking – if an Impala is a small deer you know what that makes your car right?"

Dean fixed him with a glare. "Sam.." he began, but Sam was in full flow now.

"Bambi. Your car is Bambi, Dean."

Dean raised one eyebrow. "Dude, you call my car Bambi again you're gonna be picking rock salt outta your ass – we clear?"

Sam chuckled. "Whatever man. I'm just saying that's all."

"Yeah, well you can quit saying unless you wanna spend the rest of your life walking everywhere."

Sam just grinned at Dean, who shook his head and stomped into the bathroom muttering about pain in the ass little brothers with no respect for classic American engineering. Sam knew he shouldn't really goad his brother when he was in a bad mood already, but it had been too good an opportunity to miss. And besides, it gave Dean something else to be irritated about and might just take his mind off the competition for five minutes.

When he came out of the bathroom a few moments later, still shooting Sam evil looks, Dean didn't appear to be in a better mood at all. Sam sighed. He had to do something about this before his brother met his new dance partner, otherwise it could possibly be the most short lived partnership in history. Knowing that the 'touchy feely' approach would most likely just leave him picking his teeth up off the floor, Sam decided instead to appeal to Dean's hunter instincts.

"So, you wanna go through what we've got so far on these deaths?" he said. Dean grunted as he dropped back onto the other bed and Sam took that as a 'yes'.

"Ok, so the first one was 5 years ago. No sign of any weird stuff going on before then, even though the competition started 10 years before that. First death was not that unusual – one of the male competitors was crossing the road outside the dance hall and got hit by a car. Next year there was another death, male again, this time the guy hung himself in the men's room just before the final. He didn't leave a note but everyone assumed it was just the pressure getting to him. Apparently he and his partner were the odds on favourites. Year after that it was an electrocution – one of the dancers switched the light on in the men's room and it shorted out. He was standing in a puddle of water at the time, so he didn't stand a chance."

Even as Sam said that part he glanced up at Dean, with a look that was a combination of concern and fear. Dean rolled his eyes. Even after all this time Sam still got twitchy about the thought of electrocution, especially when there was water involved. It wasn't like it didn't give Dean pause for thought too, it hadn't exactly been a happy experience for him, but as far as he was concerned it was over and done with. Raising his eyebrows at Sam, he was rewarded with a slight blush appearing on Sam's cheeks as he cleared his throat a little self consciously and continued.

"So, uh, the final one was last year. Again the guy was expected to win it, but this time he fell down the stairs and broke his neck. His partner, who was with him at the time, swore she saw something push him but the police just put it down to shock. There was only the two of them up there so they couldn't explain it. It certainly seems to fit a pattern though – every guy that was killed was doing really well in the competition and it certainly seems a hell of a coincidence it happened every year without fail. In fact, I read an article in the local paper that said entries were actually a lot fewer now as some people have been put off by the 'bad luck' the competition's been having."

Dean looked thoughtful. "Well, I guess all of those 'accidents' could easily have been caused by a spirit, especially that last one. I don't suppose the last victim's partner has entered again this year has she?"

Sam flicked through the list of competitors they'd downloaded from the website and shook his head.

"No, doesn't look like it. But then can you blame her? Must have been pretty gruesome to watch."

Dean sighed. "Yeah, I guess. And there's still nothing about any weird goings on before the first one? And no other deaths around that time?"

Sam shook his head again. "No, nothing. They just seemed to start out of nowhere. They have been consistent the last 5 years though, so it's definitely no coincidence."

Dean shrugged. "Guess we'll just have to see if I can get any info from the other competitors. I'll try and do a sweep of the place with the EMF too, see if it picks anything up. All the deaths have either been in or in front of the dance hall, so lets hope whatever it is is linked to the building itself. Hey, maybe I'll get lucky and it'll come after me itself." he said with a smirk.

Sam frowned. That thought hadn't occurred to him till now, but Dean was right. It did target the male dancers and although there was probably no danger of Dean ending up favourite to win it was still an uncomfortable thought.

Dean caught Sam's frown and threw a pillow at him.

"Hey!" said Sam indignantly, throwing it back. Dean caught it with ease and pointed at Sam with his other hand.

"Don't even start getting all pouty on me, Sammy. If this thing does go after me it'll be a good thing – makes our job easier for a start."

"Oh yeah, I'll be busy being thrilled at how easy it is as I step over your corpse." said Sam dryly.

Dean sighed. "Don't be melodramatic, Samantha. I have dealt with spirits before you know, I'm hardly incapable."

"I never said you were, I just don't like it when there's a chance what we're hunting might come after you that's all." said Sam and Dean gave a slightly sad smile.

"Welcome to my world." he said softly, and Sam knew instantly he was referring to the Yellow Eyed Demon.

He swallowed, wanting to offer some sort of comfort, but Dean was already moving on as if he hadn't spoken.

"Look, it's probably just some pissed off spirit who thought they should have won the thing in the past. We'll find out who it is, do our thing and be on our way before there's even a hint of someone coming at me with spandex or lycra. I'm serious, Sam – anyone comes near me with a sequin and there will be murder being done."

Sam chuckled despite his lingering concern about the danger to Dean.

"Nice, Dean. I could have done without _that _mental image, thanks." he said disgustedly and Dean just smirked at him, knowing he'd managed to put off the inevitable 'being careful' speech that was sure to come at some point. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Sam's concern for his safety, but his brother really did worry far too much.

Glancing at his watch Dean saw it was almost time for him to meet his new dance partner. He felt his stomach flutter with nerves and he wished once again there was another way to do this. He really wasn't looking forward to it.

Conscious of Sam watching him he adopted a nonchalant air and got up, grabbing his jacket from the chair.

"You want me to come with you?" said Sam, feeling bad that Dean was having to do this when he was clearly nervous about it. Well, clearly if you knew him as well as Sam did.

"Yeah sure, cos I wanna arrive looking like I need my hand held. I'm 26 dude, not 6." said Dean and Sam shook his head.

"A simple no would have done, Dean." he said and Dean rolled his eyes.

"I'm gonna walk – I don't know how long this thing is gonna take, so if you get food just get some for me too would you?" he said, grabbing the motel key on his way to the door.

"Ok. Be careful alright?" Sam was unable to stop himself saying.

Dean looked at him and saw the genuine concern on Sam's face so instead of the sarcastic answer that was on his lips he just said. "Sure. I'll call you if I need anything."

Sam nodded, not completely satisfied, and Dean left the room. Sam got up and watched him from the window. He always felt uneasy when they split up on a job. It usually lead to disaster. Putting aside the sense of foreboding, Sam pulled out their laptop. Least he could do was try and find out some more information.

Glancing at the window once more, and praying that for once nothing bad would come from their being apart, Sam turned his attention to the computer.

_Author's note: So credit for the whole 'Impala as Bambi' sequence has to go to my Dad! He knows how much I love that car and insists on winding me up by referring to her as Bambi, so I figured I may as well use it! Plus he'll be thrilled to see it 'in print' as it were! ;) _

_Next one will be along soon... _


	3. Chapter 3

Dean entered the dance hall, trying not to look as self conscious as he felt. There weren't many people around and he headed straight for the room at the top of the stairs he'd been told to go to.

As he walked in the room he saw a young woman, with long dark brown hair, at the other end doing some stretches. He couldn't help but grin appreciatively at the sight. As she turned round he quickly turned the grin into his most charming smile and walked towards her.

"Are you Dean Anderson?" she said abruptly, before he could say anything.

"Yeah, I am. You must be Cara." he said, still smiling. She rolled her eyes.

"Brilliant deduction, Sherlock. So you're the amateur I get stuck with for the final? Well, I hope you're a better dancer than you look." she said, eyeing him up and down.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "You always this pleasant or am I getting the special treatment?" he said dryly.

She glared at him. "Look, this stuff happens to be important to me. Getting saddled with someone who looks like they've never danced before in their life is not my idea of good news. So excuse me for not being all happy & shiny."

Dean held his hands up. "Hey, look sweetheart it's not my fault that your regular partner tripped over his own feet, so you might not want to take it out on the replacement ok?"

Cara shook her head. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were sensitive." she said, going over to the window ledge and grabbing a bottle of water.

Dean stared at her in disbelief, wondering just who he'd pissed off this time to get landed with this gig. As he watched Cara drinking he frowned as a thought occurred to him.

"You know you remind me of someone. That chick, the one from that teen thing about Superman when he was a kid. Oh, what the hell is her name? Begins with a K, I think."

Cara turned to look at him. "You mean Kristin Kreuk, from Smallville." she said and Dean clicked his fingers.

"That's the one! Not that I watch it, I mean I just saw an episode once. You know, changing channels." he said and Cara rolled her eyes.

"Gee, you know you're the first person who's ever said that? This is so exciting for me." she said dryly.

Dean quirked his eyebrow. "Okaay – how about you tell me all the things I can say without pissing you off and we can take it from there?"

She smiled brightly. "Sure, you got a postage stamp handy? I can write them down for you."

Dean took a deep breath and counted to twenty in his head. It was a good job he hadn't brought any weapons with him.

Plastering a fixed grin on his face he turned back to Cara. "Look, whether you like this or not you're stuck with me for this thing. Just like I'm stuck with you. So why don't we just get on with this and save the witty repartee for another time, ok?"

Cara seemed about to say something, but then changed her mind. She let out a slightly frustrated breath. "Fine. Just do what I say, don't screw this up for me, and we'll get along famously."

Dean shook his head. "Wow, you're being nice to me already. Careful, I'm not sure I can handle so much fawning all in one go."

Cara just glared at him and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright. What do you want me to do? Ma'am." he said, smirking slightly.

Cara ignored the jibe, and put the water down, going back to the stretches she'd been doing when Dean walked in.

"Just be here on time tomorrow morning and we'll start going through the routine. We've only got less than a week to get it ready." she said.

Dean held his hands up. "Ok, well when you make it sound so attractive how can I refuse?"

Cara ignored the sarcasm and just accepted the answer as a yes. "I'll see you tomorrow then – 9am sharp. We've got this room booked all day."

Dean gave a fake smile. "Well alright – lucky me."

Cara dismissed him with a wave and Dean shook his head as he turned round and left the room. As soon as he was outside he looked round to see if anyone was about. Seeing the place was deserted he quickly took the EMF out of his pocket and switched it on. Heading down the long corridor he moved it from side to side, alternating between watching the readings and looking out for anyone who might be around.

At first there was nothing but then, just as there was a sudden temperature drop, the EMF went wild.

"What the.." Dean didn't get a chance to finish the sentence as he suddenly felt something shove him in the back, hard.

He stumbled, almost dropping the EMF, and put his hand against the wall to steady himself.

"Alright, well you're just pissing me off already." he said to the air in general, turning round in all directions to see if he could see anything tangible. He wished he'd brought something with him, preferably a shotgun full of rock salt.

Torn between wanting as much information as he might be able to get from the spirit, and knowing that he was pretty helpless without any weapons on him, Dean decided that he'd be better off going and fetching Sam and coming back after the place was empty. At least now he was inside the building he could check out the layout and the alarm system. A voice in his head that sounded an awful lot like Sam told him to get the hell out of there, so he turned round and headed back down the corridor.

He was at the top of the stairs when he felt the next shove and he almost fell, only his quick reflexes as he grabbed the bannister saving him.

"Oh, I don't think so!" he said, holding on firmly as he started down the stairs. Unfortunately he was still halfway down when he was shoved again, twice this time, and he finally lost his footing.

Although it was only half a dozen stairs he could still feel about a million bruises springing up as he bounced off each step and he wasn't able to stop himself before his head connected with the wall at the bottom.

"Hey. Hey, can you hear me? Oh for crying out loud, what the hell is it with me and men who can't stop falling over their own feet?"

Dean recognised Cara's voice, noting that she sounded as happy as ever, and as he managed to open his eyes he saw her face hovering a few inches above his own.

"Ok, you mind giving me a little personal space here?" he managed to get out, and she pulled back slightly.

"Oh, it lives. Please tell me you haven't broken anything, I really don't have time to find yet another partner."

Dean bit back a groan as he tried to sit up. "You know your concern is truly touching." he said and Cara did have the grace to look a little contrite.

"I'm sorry, it's just this has already happened to me once and I really need to do well on Friday." she said, holding out her hand to help him up.

Dean winced a little, but despite some slight dizziness nothing seemed permanently damaged.

"Well, looks like it's your lucky day. Nothing seems broken." he said, rotating his neck and grimacing as he heard it click.

"That's great." said Cara and Dean rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, you're still stuck with me." he said and Cara smirked.

"Lucky me. At least let me drive you home. I wanna make sure you get there in one piece."

Dean shook his head, wincing as his brain reminded him that wasn't a good idea.

"There's no need for that, I think I'm old enough to find my own way home." he said.

Cara shook her head. "Oh no, I'm not gonna take no for an answer on this. My car's just outside." she said, grabbing hold of his arm.

Dean decided he really wasn't in the mood for arguing but he did pull his arm away, earning himself another glare.

Cara's driving was as scary as her personality and Dean was thankful that the Motel was only 5 minutes away. He kept his eyes half closed most of the way, partly because his head was pounding and partly because he _really _didn't want to see what was coming.

Finally, much to Dean's relief, they pulled into the Motel parking lot.

"You might want to think about a career in Nascar if the dancing thing doesn't work out." he said dryly as they screeched to a stop.

Cara smirked. "Oh don't tell me a little speed scares you?" she said and Dean just shook his head as he got out.

"Dean!"

Dean looked up and saw Sam heading towards him at speed, the Motel room door open behind him. He'd obviously been looking out of the window.

"Oh great." muttered Dean, knowing what was coming.

"Friend of yours?" said Cara, standing beside the open door on her side of the car.

Dean shot her a grin. "Sort of. That's my brother." he said, just as Sam reached them.

"What the hell happened?" said Sam, his face creased with concern as he reached out towards the gash on Dean's head, just below his hairline.

Dean batted his hand away. "Dude, I'm fine. It's no big deal ok?" he said.

Sam raised his eyebrows. "Right, it looks like no big deal." he said and Dean glared at him.

" Do NOT make a fuss Sam." he hissed, so only Sam could hear him.

Sam rolled his eyes but let it go for now, noticing that they had an audience.

"Hi." he said, acknowledging Cara for the first time.

She flashed him a grin. "Hi. I'm Cara." she said.

"I'm Sam, Dean's brother."

"Ok. Well I'll leave him in your capable hands then. Try and make sure he doesn't kill himself before tomorrow would you?" she said.

Sam's lips twitched. "I'll do my best." he said, earning himself a whack on the arm from Dean.

"Don't encourage her, Sam." he said and Cara smiled sweetly.

"You might want to get him checked out – he was out for a few minutes." she said innocently and Dean glared at her.

"Oh, now you're helping me? That's great. Here's a thought - please don't." he said and Cara's smile just got wider.

"Don't forget – 9am sharp." she said as she got back in the car.

Dean gave a vague wave as he stepped out of the way before she pulled away, tyres screeching.

Dean shook his head at her driving and turned back to see Sam watching him with an expectant look on his face.

"What?" said Dean, trying to look innocent and Sam raised an eyebrow.

"Knocked out?" he said calmly and Dean shrugged.

"It was only for a minute, Sam, don't get all girly about it." he said firmly, heading back towards the Motel room.

"Right, I forgot – it's girly for me to actually give a crap about your health." he said as he followed his brother.

Dean rolled his eyes. He really wasn't in the mood for a Sam-lecture right now.

"So will you at least tell me what happened?" said Sam, shutting the door behind them.

Dean shrugged off his jacket and dropped down on his bed with a sight groan.

"I got a little up close and personal with our friendly ghost." he said.

"You saw the spirit?" said Sam, sitting down on the other bed and leaning forward.

"Not saw exactly, just felt. I was taking a sweep of the top corridor with the EMF when the temperature dropped and the thing went wild. Next thing I know I'm getting shoved around like a pinball. I was coming back here to get you when it caught me on the stairs." he said.

"How far did you fall?" said Sam, practically radiating concern.

"Not far. I was halfway down already. It's fine Sammy – really. Just a few bruises." said Dean, softening as he recognised that Sam was only worried about him.

Sam sighed, appeased for now. "Alright. Well, it doesn't look like that needs stitches. Why don't you get cleaned up and I'll go grab us some food." he said and Dean shot him a grateful grin.

"Sounds good to me. Nothing healthy, ok? I'm gonna need all my energy to deal with psycho Flashdance in the morning." he said, getting up and heading towards the bathroom.

Sam chuckled as he grabbed his jacket. "I'll see what I can do." he said as he left the room, making sure he locked the door behind him.

By the time Sam came back with a suitably greasy offering for his brother and a slightly healthier alternative for himself, Dean was out of the bathroom and feeling a little better.

He looked up from the TV as Sam came in and easily caught the bag he threw at him.

"Hmm, that more like it." he said, inhaling the aroma as he opened the bag like a man who hadn't eaten for a week.

Sam took off his jacket and sat on the other bed, opening his own bag of food.

"So what's the plan?" he said, taking a bite out of his chicken burger.

"Well, I thought we could go back later tonight and do another sweep of the place. Preferably armed this time in case Casper makes another appearance." said Dean, talking with his mouth full.

Sam grimaced. "Dude – chew with your mouth closed, would you?" he said and Dean rolled his eyes.

"I was hoping to check out the alarm system but I didn't get a chance so we'll have to wing it." he said, making no attempt to hide the food in his mouth.

Sam shook his head disgustedly, wondering at what point his brother would actually grow up, and went back to eating his own dinner.

"How long do you want to leave it?" he said, keeping his gaze fixed on the TV this time.

"I reckon about midnight should be late enough. There's no houses that close so we should be able to get in round the back without being seen." said Dean, crumpling up the empty bag now he'd finished eating.

Sam glanced across and looked incredulous. "Man, did you actually chew any of that or did you just inhale the whole thing?" he said and Dean shrugged.

"I was hungry." he said and Sam shook his head.

"You should get some rest for a few hours. I haven't forgotten you were knocked out you know." he said firmly and Dean looked like he was about to protest, but seeing Sam's determined look he gave in.

"You are such a worrier." he said, but he lay down anyway. His head was still throbbing but there was no need to let his brother in on that.

He'd only had his eyes closed for a few moments when he felt something nudge his shoulder.

Opening one eye, he saw Sam standing beside his bed holding out a cup of water in one hand and two Tylenol tablets in the other.

Dean opened the other eye and pushed himself up on one arm, reaching out and taking the tablets and water.

Swallowing them quickly he gave the glass back to Sam and flashed him a grateful smile.

"Thanks Sammy." he said softly and Sam just smiled, knowing better than to make a big deal of it. He was just glad he knew Dean well enough to know what he needed, even if he'd never ask for it.

"Wake me up when it's time." Dean mumbled as he shut his eyes again and Sam watched him for a moment before sitting back on his own bed and turning down the volume on the TV.

He wasn't happy that Dean had encountered the spirit on his own first, nor was he happy he'd gotten hurt already, but he supposed it could have been worse. Vowing to keep a more careful eye on his brother anyway, whether he liked it or not, he settled back to wait.


	4. Chapter 4

"Dean."

The voice was accompanied by someone gently shaking his shoulder and Dean burrowed further under the covers, determined to ignore the attempt to get him to wake up.

"Dean – come on man, it's time to go."

Apparently Sam wasn't taking no for an answer and Dean pulled the covers back, fixing his brother with a glare. Sam just chuckled, used to Dean's mood when being woken up.

"Hey it was your idea to go back and check the place out tonight." he said, getting up from where he'd been sitting on Dean's bed once he was sure his brother was properly awake.

"Oh sure, blame the concussed guy." grumbled Dean as he got up, wincing as he pulled bruises that were already starting to develop.

"So now you admit you're concussed?" said Sam, fixing him with look that was part concern and part exasperation.

"Figure of speech." said Dean, ignoring the look and sitting down to pull on his boots.

Sam rolled his eyes, knowing it was no use even suggesting they leave checking the place out until Dean wasn't concussed – figure of speech or not.

Pulling on his own boots, Sam made sure he grabbed the Impala's keys before Dean did. The move earned him a glare but he took no notice and Dean clearly wasn't feeling good enough to argue the point.

"You are such a pain." he said and Sam just grinned at him as he slid into the driver's seat.

Sam made sure to park round the back of the dance hall, out of sight from the road. Getting out they grabbed the flashlights from the trunk, along with the rock salt loaded shotguns. Dean took the EMF out of his pocket and, quickly scanning the area to make sure they were alone, they headed towards the back entrance of the dance hall.

"From what I saw, before Casper decided to get up close and personal, there's half a dozen rooms on the top floor and just the one big hall downstairs. You wanna go check the hall while I do the rooms upstairs?" said Dean, as Sam got ready to pick the lock.

Sam looked up at Dean with his eyebrows raised. "Let me think about it – do I want us to split up and check out the huge empty building, separately, for a spirit that's already pushed you down the stairs and knocked you out once today?"

There was a pause. "I'm gonna go ahead and take that as a no, shall I?" said Dean dryly.

Sam didn't bother dignifying that with a reply and concentrated instead on the lock. Moments later they were inside. Dean turned on his flashlight and swept it round the hallway they were in.

"You wanna do down here first?" he whispered.

"Sounds good to me." Sam whispered back. As they made their way into the main hall Dean shook his head.

"You know this would go so much faster if.."

Sam cut him off. "Not happening, Dean. Deal with it and move on would you?" he hissed.

Dean rolled his eyes, shining his flashlight in Sam's face. "This whole wanting to be in each other's pockets when we're hunting is gonna be a real problem, Sammy. It's a little impractical, don't you think?"

Sam knocked Dean's flashlight so it wasn't in his eyes in anymore, and fixed him with a glare. "It may take a little longer, but it's a hell of a lot safer. Do you need me to remind you how many times you've been hurt when we've split up? How many times you've almost been killed? Or arrested? Or God knows what else? I'm getting tired of visiting you in hospital Dean, so impractical or not we do this stuff TOGETHER from now on."

Dean raised an eyebrow. "You done? Cos I happen to have been doing this a lot longer than you have Sam, and I'm still here. Do you need me to remind _you _that I managed perfectly well on my own while you were at Stanford?"

"That doesn't mean your luck is gonna last forever. And it doesn't mean I didn't have nightmares about something happening to you back then as well. I wasn't around then, but I am now. And it's as much my job to look out for you as it is for you to look out for me. I wish you'd get that part."

Dean sighed. "Fine, we'll hold hands nicely ok? Now can we get on with this or do you wanna do a little more bonding?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Jerk." he muttered.

"Bitch" said Dean, and when Sam glanced at him he saw Dean's customary smirk. He couldn't stop himself grinning in return, and Dean nudged him with his shoulder to get him moving again before the moment became too 'deep'.

There was no sign of any spirit activity whatsoever in the hall so they moved upstairs. They swept every room up there as well but there was nothing.

Dean threw his hands up in frustration. "Great. Now we get a part time spirit." he said and Sam snorted.

"Yeah, well at least we know it is definitely a spirit thanks to your little encounter earlier. Maybe it's only attracted to the contestants."

"Or maybe it had better plans tonight." said Dean dryly.

They made their way back downstairs and let themselves out. Back in the Motel room Dean hung his jacket up and dropped back onto the bed with a sigh.

"So that was one huge waste of time." he said and Sam shrugged as he sat down on the other bed.

"Least we know now it seems to be connected to the competition and not just the building."

"Yeah, but it also means I'm actually gonna have to turn up for this practice tomorrow." he said, looking disgusted.

Sam grinned and then tried to hide it, but the pillow that hit him in the head told him he hadn't hid it well enough.

"Hey, look it's not my fault the spirit was a no show. Besides Cara seems delightful." he said, throwing the pillow back at Dean.

"Delightful my ass. The woman's a demon." said Dean as he caught it and Sam chuckled.

"Actually she kinda reminded me of you." he said and Dean looked at him with a horrified expression.

"I am nothing like her!" he said indignantly and Sam just carried on laughing.

"Maybe I'll get lucky and the damn thing will push me down the stairs again." said Dean as he grabbed his t-shirt and shorts and headed for the bathroom.

Sam instantly sobered. "That's not funny, Dean." he said and Dean just smirked at him over his shoulder as he shut the door behind him.

_Author's note: Sorry this is a short one – next one will be longer I promise! And yes, we will get to the Dean dancing part... '**grins evilly**'_


	5. Chapter 5

Dean took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he tried to calm his nerves. This was utterly ridiculous. He'd faced Wendigos, Demons, Spirits, and everything in between without so much as breaking into a sweat but faced with the prospect of dancing with a girl he barely knew he was a gibbering wreck.

"Get a grip." he muttered to himself, annoyed he was letting himself get so worked up over this.

He'd been up since the crack of dawn, which was more than a little unusual for him, and he'd nearly driven Sam mad pacing the room until it was time to leave. He could tell Sam actually felt a little guilty about him having to do this, as he'd gone overboard on the whole 'you'll be great at this' speech. Hell, he'd sounded like Dean's own personal cheerleader. Dean was just glad his brother wasn't going to get a chance to see this.

Glancing at his watch and seeing it was almost 9am he took one last deep breath and walked into the hall. He'd seen Cara's car in the parking lot, shuddering at the mere memory of her driving, so he knew she'd already be there. Fixing his most charming smile onto his face, he pushed open the door and went in.

Cara looked up from where she was stretched out on the floor and glanced at her watch.

"Cutting it a little fine aren't we?" she said and Dean rolled his eyes.

"And good morning to you too. What did I tell you about being so nice to me? I'm really not sure I can take it." he said, taking off his jacket and laying it on one of the chairs.

"I'm not here to be nice to you, I'm here to teach you this routine so you're somehow going to be ready by the day after tomorrow. Which if you ask me will be a minor miracle." she said, shaking her head.

"Hey!" said Dean indignantly. "What makes you think I'm going to be so bad at this?"

"How about the fact you've turned up to dance practise in jeans? They're not exactly flexible, Dean." said Cara and Dean looked down at what he was wearing.

"Well, my leotard was in the wash so what can you do?" he said dryly and Cara glared at him.

"If this is some big joke to you then you may as well leave now and save us both the bother. I happen to take this stuff seriously you know and I've worked damn hard at it. There's people who come to these things who could be useful to me in actually getting a career in this industry, and I won't see you screw that up for me!" she said, getting right up into Dean's personal space.

Dean stepped back a little, holding his hands up. "Hey, I'm not here to screw anything up for you ok? I'm taking this seriously, honestly, I'm just not really a spandex kinda guy. But I am ready to learn this stuff, alright? Just give me a chance." he said earnestly.

Cara looked at him for a long moment before sighing. "Fine. Just do exactly what I say and we'll take it from there."

Dean shook his head as she turned away to do something with a cassette player that was on the window sill. Man, she was more than a little scary about this. He was torn between wanting to prove to Cara that he could do this and hoping that they'd get a chance to exorcise the spirit before Friday. Except of course that would leave Cara in the lurch, and he found himself feeling guilty about that, now she'd made that little speech.

"This so sucks." he said under his breath.

"What?" said Cara, walking back over to him.

"Nothing." said Dean, smiling brightly. "So what do you want me to do?"

3 hours later Cara finally agreed they could stop for lunch. Dean was starving and, although he wouldn't have admitted it, his muscles were feeling the burn a little from all the hard work they'd been doing.

It had been easier than he'd thought to pick up the moves. He'd applied the same tactics he'd used to use when John was teaching him a new hunting technique, or a new fighting move. Once he approached it in that way, it just seemed to flow. He'd always been quick at picking stuff up and he was in pretty good shape thanks to the job. He could tell Cara had been surprised, although she'd still hadn't let up on the digs of course.

Handing him a bottle of water, which he gratefully took a long swig from, Cara looked at him appraisingly.

"So you're not a total disaster, which is something." she said thoughtfully.

Dean rolled his eyes. "Gee, you're too kind." he said, taking another big mouthful of water.

"Well you can't blame me for being a little sceptical. You don't exactly look the type, do you?" said Cara and Dean raised an eyebrow.

"That's a little judgemental isn't it?" he said and was pleased to see her blush a little.

"Yeah, well." she said, sounding defensive.

Dean chuckled. "You shouldn't make assumptions you know." he said with mock seriousness and Cara whacked him lightly on the arm.

"Thank you, Yoda." she said and Dean looked a little surprise.

"You don't strike me as the Star Wars type." he said and Cara smirked.

"What was that you were just saying about assumptions?"

Dean smirked back. "Touché." he said and Cara laughed.

It was actually quite nice to have a conversation that didn't involve insults for 5 minutes. She was still possibly the most annoying woman he'd ever met, but maybe she wasn't all bad.

"So I'm just gonna grab some air and get some food." said Dean, wanting to take the opportunity to see how Sam was getting on with the research.

"Alright. Just be back here in half an hour ok?" said Cara and Dean rolled his eyes and saluted.

Stepping outside he made his way over to the park that was next to the dance hall and sat down on one of the benches. Making sure no one was nearby he dialled Sam's number.

"Hey Dean." said Sam when he answered, after only one ring. Dean grinned, wondering if Sam had been sat there staring at the phone.

"Hey. How's the research going, geek boy." he said, practically able to hear Sam rolling his eyes.

"No luck so far. How's it going with the dancing?" said Sam, sounding apprehensive.

"It's going great – I told you I'd be awesome, remember?" said Dean cockily.

Sam chuckled. "Well, maybe you ought to think about taking it up then – I mean in case the hunting thing ever dries up one day." he said.

Dean snorted. "Yeah, alright – I don't think we need to go that far, Sammy." he said.

"So you and Cara haven't killed each other yet then?" enquired Sam, the grin clear in his voice.

"No, we've managed to resist the urge so far. She's not been too bad although she's a worse drill sergeant than Dad. She really takes this stuff seriously dude." said Dean.

"What are you going to do about the competition? I mean if we can track the spirit and get rid of it before Friday, you're not gonna actually go through with it are you?" said Sam and Dean sighed.

"I don't know. Before I would have said no, hands down, but now. I feel kinda bad about letting her down."

"That's sweet, but come on Dean. There's bound to be press there, even if it's local, and we can do without your picture being in the papers. All it takes is one eagle eyed cop to spot it and we'd be in real trouble." said Sam, sounding worried.

Dean smiled at the fact Sam had said 'we'd be in trouble' and not 'you'd be in trouble', knowing Sam couldn't see him. He knew Sam was right about the publicity aspect though, but it didn't change the fact he didn't want to let Cara down.

"Look, there's no point worrying about this right now. We've still gotta find the damn spirit first." said Dean and it was Sam's turn to sigh.

"I take it there's been nothing weird happening at the hall this morning?" he said and Dean shook his head before remembering he was on the phone.

"No. I was thinking of running up and down the stairs for a bit, see if I could tempt it out again."

"Dean!" said Sam, sounding annoyed. "That's not funny, man."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Oh relax, would you? The damn thing's either given up or it's the laziest spirit we've ever come across. I wouldn't mind getting pushed down the stairs again just to get it out in the open."

"Yeah, well _I'd _mind Dean – just watch yourself ok?" said Sam and Dean sighed.

"Alright, alright – I said I'd be careful didn't I? Look, I gotta go – I'm starving and the slave driver wants me back by 12.30. I'll call you later ok?" he said.

"Sure – good luck." said Sam.

Dean shut his phone and dropped it back in his pocket. Crossing the road he went into the store and bought some food. Twenty minutes later, as ordered, he was back inside the dance hall.

They carried on working on the routine all afternoon, and the time actually flew by. By the end they were pretty much able to get through the whole thing with only a few fumbles and Dean found himself feeling surprisingly pleased.

Cara was in a slightly better mood too and actually went as far as to say "not bad" after their final run through.

Dean bowed at the faint praise and Cara stuck her tongue out at him.

"So we've only got this room for a couple of hours tomorrow afternoon, so we'll need to really go over the parts you're still a bit rusty on." she said, putting her stuff back in her bag.

"You mean I won't have to be stuck in here with you the whole day? I'm gutted." said Dean, leaning back against the window sill.

"Don't tempt me." said Cara, without looking round.

As Dean put his jacket back on the doors at the end of the room suddenly swung open and then slammed shut.

Cara jumped and whirled round. "What the hell was that?" she said.

"Probably just a gust of wind." said Dean, but his hunter senses were on alert as he scanned the room for anything else unusual. As much as he'd been hoping for a sign of the spirit all day he really hadn't wanted it to be while Cara was around.

"So you ready to go?" he said, grabbing hold of Cara's arm and practically dragging her across the room.

"Hey! What's with you? Am I keeping you from something important?" she said, trying to pull her arm away from Dean's grip.

"No, I just figured you'd be keen to get home, you know relax for the evening after working so hard." said Dean distractedly.

Cara frowned at him. "You're weird – you do know that, don't you?" she said, sounding more than a little exasperated.

By now they'd reached the doors and Dean grabbed the handle and pulled. Nothing happened. He frowned and pulled harder, but there was no doubt about it. The doors were firmly staying closed.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." he said and Cara looked at him.

"What's wrong?" she said, looking a little worried now.

"Uh, nothing's wrong. Just the doors seem to be jammed. Could've been the lock shifted when they slammed shut like that. Come on, lets use the other door." said Dean, pulling Cara towards the emergency exit at the other end of the room.

"Would you stop pulling me around like child? I'm perfectly capable of walking on my own." said Cara, sounding more than a little annoyed.

Dean ignored her and didn't loosen his grip despite the fact she was trying to pull her arm away from him. He mentally crossed his fingers as he reached for the door but his heart sank when it stayed as resolutely closed as the others had.

"Great." he said, rubbing his hand over his face and scanning the room for another way out.

"What's wrong with these doors? They shouldn't ever be locked, it's a fire exit." said Cara, pulling away from Dean finally to try them herself and frowning when she couldn't open them.

Suddenly at that moment the wooden shutters on the windows that lined one side of the room slammed shut, one after the other.

Cara shrieked as the room was suddenly plunged into darkness. Dean reached into his pocket and grabbed his ever present flashlight.

"It's ok, don't panic." he said, grabbing his phone with the other hand.

This time Sam answered after 3 rings and Dean didn't bother with niceties.

"Sam, you need to get down here right now – we've got company." he said, shutting the phone before Sam had time to start asking questions.

He shone the light at Cara and saw her staring at him. "What the hell is going on? Why are the doors locked, what the hell closed those shutters like that and what do you mean we've got company?" she said, sounding more mad than scared.

Dean swallowed. "Ok, this is gonna sound crazy but I'm not really here for the dancing competition." he said, trying to decide if he could make up something plausible or if he was gonna have to go with the truth.

"I knew it! You said you were taking this seriously, but I knew you weren't a proper dancer. Who are you? And what the hell are you playing at?" she said, sounding really pissed now.

Dean winced. This wasn't going well.

"Look I am taking it seriously, I swear, it's just there's another reason I'm here. Why we're here, me and Sam. You see what's shut us in like this? We think it's what's been causing all those deaths over the last 5 years." he said and Cara raised her eyebrows.

"And what exactly is that?"

"Well, since you ask. We're pretty certain it's a spirit." said Dean.

Cara blinked and looked at him.

"Oh my God – you really are insane aren't you?"

_Author's note – Thanks so much to everyone who's sticking with this despite the email alerts STILL being down mutters about under her breath I hope you're still enjoying it and I promise you will get more of a description of Dean's dancing later on! This just seems to keep growing... Next one won't be too long... :)_


	6. Chapter 6

Dean rubbed his hand over his face as Cara continued to stare at him incredulously.

"Ok, look I know how this sounds but trust me I'm not insane. This is what we do, we deal with this sort of thing."

"Spirits?" said Cara, as if it was the most ridiculous thing she'd ever heard. Which, Dean reflected, it probably was.

He was saved from having to reply by a chair suddenly flying through the air towards them. Only Dean's quick reflexes saved them both from some serious damage. Throwing himself at Cara they both ended up on the floor as the chair sailed over their heads and crashed against the wall.

"Ok, this thing is really starting to piss me off." said Dean, standing up and holding his hand out to Cara.

She lay on the floor, looking up at him with an expression that was a mix of fear and confusion.

"I get this is a lot to take in, but I really wouldn't recommend staying there." said Dean, with a half smile Cara could just make out in the glow from the flashlight.

She let out an annoyed breath and got up without taking Dean's hand. He rolled his eyes and stepped back, swinging the beam of light round the room to try and see what the spirit's next move would be.

"So you're expecting me to believe that spirits are real and that you and your brother are some sort of ghost hunters?" said Cara and Dean glanced back at her and nodded.

"Something like that." he said.

Cara stood there watching him. He seemed sincere, and he certainly wasn't as phased by the flying furniture and slamming doors as she was. And he wasn't really the dancer type yet he'd worked hard on the routine all day and had sounded genuine when he said he wouldn't mess up her chances on Friday. She suddenly remembered Dean's fall down the stairs the day before.

"Hey, when you fell down the stairs yesterday – was that something to do with this?" she said.

"Well, if you class 'something' as being shoved down the things by the damn spirit, then yeah it was." said Dean, still smarting at the memory.

"And you think this 'spirit' has been the cause of the deaths the competition has had the last few years?" she said.

"Yes. So does this mean you don't think I'm crazy?" said Dean, turning to look at her.

She snorted. "Oh no, I'm still pretty certain you're buckets of crazy but on the other hand I've never known furniture to aim itself at me or doors to spontaneously lock themselves." she said.

Dean raised his eyebrows. "Nice. I guess I should at least be grateful you believe the spirit part."

"I didn't say I believed necessarily.." Cara began, but before she could finish there was a loud banging on the main doors.

Dean tensed, but then almost immediately relaxed as he heard the sound of Sam's voice yelling his name.

"Dean! Can you hear me? Are you in there? Dean!"

Dean jogged across to the doors. "Yes, I can hear you Sam." he called back. "I think the entire state can hear you, would you lower your voice a little?"

He heard Sam huff, even through the wood. "Well excuse me for being concerned, your message was a little cryptic. What's happened?" he said, his voice quickly swinging from mild annoyance back to open worry.

"Casper decided to put in an appearance at last, that's what happened. It's got the doors jammed shut and the window shutters too. Oh yeah, and it's playing frisbee with the furniture. Which is fun, in the dark." said Dean dryly.

Dean could picture Sam's frown. "Uh, is Cara in there with you?" he said.

"Oh yeah, she's here. I explained what's happening." said Dean.

Now he could picture Sam's raised eyebrows. "Are you serious? How did that go?" he said.

"Oh it went fantastic – she thinks I'm insane. Apart from that, she's cool with the whole thing." said Dean.

He heard Sam sigh. "Alright look, I'm gonna go get an axe from the car see if I can break this door down." he said, but Dean was speaking before Sam had even finished.

"No, no, no Sam – that's gonna attract a little attention, don't you think?" he said.

"Well what do you suggest? You want me to ask it nicely if it'll open the door?" said Sam, sounding exasperated.

"Cute. There's gotta be another way to get out other than wrecking the joint. What about the windows? If you could get a ladder up I might be able to get one of these shutters open – it's gotta be easier than the doors." said Dean.

"That's great, but you know what? I left my ladder in my other jacket." said Sam.

Dean closed his eyes and counted to 10. He wondered if normal people ever had days as frustrating as he did.

"Thank you, wise ass. There's a janitor's cupboard downstairs. They're bound to have a ladder around somewhere." he said.

There was a pause as Sam considered the plan. "What about you guys?" he said finally.

"Well, we're not going anywhere. At least not until you bring the damn ladder back!" said Dean, forcing himself not to yell.

"Fine! Just call me when it starts aiming things at your head again." said Sam and Dean heard him stomping off towards the stairs. He shook his head. 23 years old and Sam could still stomp like a teenager.

He turned round, realising Cara had been awfully quiet while he'd been talking to Sam. She was standing a short distance away from him, her arms folded across her chest and a thoughtful look on her face.

"How you doing?" said Dean, trying to act like this was a completely normal situation. Which of course it was, if you were a Winchester. For Cara on the other hand this had to be pretty freaky.

"I was just thinking. Do you suppose you and your brother will ever move past puberty at some point?" she said, in complete seriousness.

Dean blinked. "We're stuck in here with a spirit who's doing his best to take our heads off and you're analysing me and my brother?" he said in disbelief.

She shrugged. "I'm a study of human nature. Besides, it's taking my mind of the fact that I'm trapped in a room with something that does not, in all my knowledge, exist and a crazy man." she said.

Dean rolled his eyes. "And I'm the crazy one?" he said.

At that moment the spirit, obviously feeling left out, made a reappearance. More chairs, followed by Cara's bag, followed by Cara's cassette player all made their way across the room towards them.

"Oh for crying out loud!" muttered Dean, grabbing hold of Cara and ducking down in the corner. He managed to pull the one table in the room in front of them and they both jumped a little as the objects slammed into it.

"Ok any time now would be _really_ great Sammy." said Dean under his breath. As if by magic they suddenly heard someone banging on one of the windows.

Dean managed to crawl out from behind the table, keeping as low as possible, and made his way to the window Sam was pounding on from the outside. The spirit was obviously slightly distracted by all the target practice it was currently engaged in and Dean was able to pry open one of the shutters. He was greeted with the sight of Sam's relieved face through the glass. Dean flashed him a quick grin before setting to work on the lock. It was an old fashioned window and fortunately it opened easily.

"Hey – you ready to go or you wanna stick around for a while?" said Sam with a grin. Dean ignored him, instead gesturing to Cara that she should come and join him. She hesitated briefly, but then crawled out from behind the table and scrambled across the floor to join him.

"You first." said Dean, helping her up onto the window sill. She stepped out onto the ladder and Sam went down first, keeping an eye on her to make sure she didn't miss her footing. As soon as Cara was a few rungs down Dean climbed out himself. As he did so the shutter slammed shut again and he almost fell, slipping down at least 3 rungs.

"Dean!" Sam yelled and Dean waved his hand. "I'm ok." he said, carrying on climbing down now he'd regained his footing.

Finally all three of them were back on solid ground. Dean clapped Sam on the shoulder and flashed him a grin. "Nice job with the ladder, Francis." he said and Sam rolled his eyes but grinned anyway, relieved to see Dean in one piece.

Dean turned to Cara who was looking back up at the window apprehensively as if she expected the spirit to follow them out.

"Hey, you ok?" said Dean and she turned to look at him.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I'm not ok you idiot! I don't know whether to call the cops or the men in white coats. Who the hell are you guys?" she said, throwing her hands up in the air.

Dean and Sam exchanged glances. Dean's look clearly said 'be my guest' and Sam gave Cara a small smile.

"Maybe we should go back to our motel and we can explain this a little better." he said.

For a moment they weren't sure she'd agree but then she came to a decision. "Fine! But I'm driving myself and you should know, I have Mace in my pocket." she said as she stormed off towards her own car.

Dean let out a long breath. "Ok, we are so gonna let her go first. She drives bad enough when she's not pissed." he said.

Sam shook his head. "I can't believe you told her."

Dean glared at him. "What was I supposed to say? The chairs and doors had developed a life of their own? It wasn't really something we could pretend not to notice, Sam." he said and Sam sighed.

"I guess. Well, lets just hope she doesn't go through with her threat to call the cops on us."

"You're such a ray of sunshine. Give me the keys." said Dean as they walked over to the Impala. Sam threw them to him and glanced back at the ladder.

"Shouldn't we clear up here?" he said and Dean shrugged.

"I've a feeling we're gonna be back here later anyway – we'll take care of it then." he said as they got in the car.

Sam glanced out the window as they watched Cara's car screech away from the parking lot. Oh yeah – this was gonna be one interesting conversation.


	7. Chapter 7

By the time they pulled up outside the motel Cara was already leaning against the hood of her car, looking seriously impatient. Dean sighed.

"You think we could just turn the car round now and take off before she notices us?" he said.

Sam smirked. "Sounds like a plan to me." he said, knowing as well as Dean did that was not gonna happen.

She looked up at the distinctive sound of the Impala's engine and watched as they pulled up alongside her.

Dean got out first, flashing her a slightly nervous smile. Whether she was just taking pity on him, or had calmed down a little on the drive, Cara gave a half smile in return. Sam got out as well and they both followed Dean into the motel room.

Once inside, all three of them stood there a little awkwardly for a moment. Dean cracked first.

"Ok, this is ridiculous – look Cara, I know this is a lot to take in but I swear to you we are not crazy. You saw what happened in that room and if you think about it, you know there's something not right with all these deaths linked to the competition." he said.

Sam's gaze flicked between Dean and Cara as they both waited for response. She sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed.

"I just.. This is insane. I mean, that stuff can't be real. But you're right, I know what I saw. And I do trust you, although don't let that go to your head." she said dryly.

Dean smirked. "Thanks, I think."

"So I'm assuming you've got questions." said Sam, leaning back against the table that was in front of the window.

Cara snorted. "Gee, what makes you think that?" she said and Sam shook his head. She really was scarily like Dean.

Although he wasn't gonna point that out to either of them right now.

"So?" said Dean, sitting down at the opposite end of the bed to Cara.

She thought about it for a moment, trying to work out what to ask first.

"Are your names really Dean and Sam?" she said finally and Sam nodded.

"Yes, although our surname's not Anderson it's Winchester." he said.

"Alright – and how long have you two been doing this kind of stuff?" Cara asked next.

Sam glanced at Dean, who nodded. "Well, pretty much since we could walk. Our Dad was in the same business and we grew up with it."

Cara raised her eyebrows. "You're kidding me? Okaaay, you guys must have had one interesting childhood."

"You could say that." said Dean a little sadly.

Sam quickly stepped in before Dean could get too immersed in painful memories.

"We've been researching all the deaths here over the last five years and they've all been men, all competitors, and all favourites to win. Now that's one hell of a coincidence, don't you think?" he asked Cara.

She sighed. "Well, when you put it like that. Do you have any idea who this 'spirit' could be?" she said and both Dean and Sam shook their heads.

"That's where we come up against a brick wall. There's no suspicious deaths, weird disappearances, or anything else around the time all this started. Sam's been researching the whole time we've been here and we've got nada. I don't suppose you know something we don't?" said Dean hopefully.

"I'm sure there's a lot I know you don't" said Cara with a smirk and Dean rolled his eyes. She held up her hand to stop him retorting and carried on speaking. "But related to this? Not that I can think of. I mean what usually causes.. this?" she said, unable to think of phrase for what was going on that didn't sound completely insane.

"It's usually the spirit of someone who met a violent death, or who feels they've got unfinished business. Sometimes they're after revenge. It can vary." said Sam.

"Well that's nice and vague. I take it what you guys do isn't really an exact science?" said Cara and Sam glanced at Dean with a grin.

"Not exactly, no." he said.

"We are pretty good at it though." said Dean and Cara shook her head.

"I'm sure you are. And yet so modest."

Sam chuckled at that, ducking to avoid the pillow Dean threw at his head. Cara just rolled her eyes but couldn't help grinning at their antics. There was something extremely entertaining about watching the two Winchester's interact.

Suddenly a thought occurred to her. "Oh my God!" she said and Dean looked at her.

"What?" he said and she glanced from him to Sam with wide eyes.

"I think I may know who it is! The spirit I mean." she said and Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Who?" he said and she swallowed before speaking.

"Well, there was this guy who used to help out. He was here as long as I can remember, which is about 7 years since I first got involved in the competition. He wasn't really employed there or anything, but he liked to help out. Shifting furniture, sweeping up, that sort of thing. He loved dancing and used to watch the people practising for hours. He couldn't dance himself as he'd had an accident as a child and broken his leg – it never reset properly. Anyway, most of the competitors used to be pretty mean to him. They either ignored him or treated him like a servant. He used to try and offer suggestions but they just used to laugh at him. Thing is, he knew what he was talking about. He did it to me once and what he said really made sense. That's how I got talking to him in the first place. We kinda got friendly in the end – I think he was thrilled to have someone actually talk to him and not treat him like something they'd just stepped in." she said sadly.

"And?" said Dean, never the most patient person in the world.

Cara glared briefly at him for the interruption before continuing. "_And_, he died. It was an accident, at the hall. See he'd stayed late one Friday night, watching the last of the practise sessions. No one was booked into the rooms until Sunday and they think he must have slipped and fallen down the stairs while he was locking up. He didn't die instantly but by the time someone found him, it was too late. The people who own the dance hall covered it up. He wasn't really employed, he helped out for free, and they were worried about getting hit for health & safety or negligence of some kind. The owner was friendly with the guy who runs the local paper so they left out the details of how he'd died and just said it was an accident. There was no mention of the hall or the competition at all. It was so sad – like they were trying to pretend he didn't even exist. I went to the funeral and there was only me and his mother there. None of the other entrants could be bothered to come, even though he'd done so much for them."

Dean glanced at Sam. "Well, it sounds to me like he'd have plenty of reason to be pissed off with the competition. And it also ties in with his habit of pushing people down the stairs. Was he buried here?" he said and Cara nodded.

"Yes, in the local cemetery." she said.

"Could you tell us his name?" said Sam and Cara looked at him with a frown.

"Why?" she said and Dean shifted a little awkwardly.

"Well, there's only one way to put a spirit to rest and that's to salt and burn their bones." he said.

Cara stared at him. "You're kidding me." she said and this time Sam answered.

"I'm afraid not. Look we're always careful to put things back as they were, but we've got no choice. He's killing people Cara, and if we don't do this he's gonna carry on. You saw what he's capable of." he said earnestly.

Cara bit her lip and thought about it for a moment. "Alright." she said reluctantly. "His name was Sean Jenkins. He's buried in the cemetery next to the main church, just on the outskirts of town. His mother moved away a few years after it happened, so I guess at least there's probably no one who would even notice if his grave gets a little disturbed.

"Perfect." said Dean, and both Cara and Sam looked at him aghast.

"What?" he said and Sam rolled his eyes. "Forgive my brother, he doesn't always engage his brain before he speaks." he said to Cara.

"Hey!" said Dean indignantly, but then he thought about what he'd just said and realised how it came across.

"Right. I didn't mean it was perfect for him that no one visited, I just meant at least we won't attract any unwanted attention." he said and Cara shook her head.

"It's ok, I knew what you meant. So when are you going to do it?" she said, not able to bring herself to say exactly what 'it' was.

"We'll have to wait till it gets dark, just to be on the safe side. We'll do it tonight, that way hopefully Sean won't have a chance to go after anyone else. No one's using the hall tonight, are they?" Sam said.

"No, Dean and I were the last to leave." said Cara and Dean nodded.

"Alright then. Listen, thanks for helping us out with the info there, Cara. We'd never have known about Sean's connection to the competition on our own, you've really helped us out." he said.

Cara was mortified to feel herself actually blush slightly at Dean's words and she saw from the slight smirk on his face that he'd noticed.

"Yeah well, you did put in a lot of hard work today so I guess we're even." she said and the smirk turned into a smile that actually made her blush even more. How was it she hadn't noticed until now that Dean was actually pretty damn cute?

Coughing to try and cover up her sudden embarrassment she frowned as a thought occurred to her.

"So once you've taken care of this, you'll be leaving town right?" she said. Dean instantly realised why she was asking and winced, feeling guilty. As much as he'd been against this gig since the beginning, he felt bad about the idea of letting Cara down for the competition.

He realised both Sam and Cara were waiting for him to answer the question.

"Well, ah, usually that's how it works yeah. But I feel kinda bad, leaving you in the lurch. And we did do all that work today." he said.

"So I guess we could stay one more day." said Sam, knowing already that Dean wasn't about to walk away from what he saw as his responsibility.

Dean glanced at Sam and then back at Cara. "Yeah, what he said. We'll stay until after the competition."

Cara's face lit up and before Dean could react she threw her arms round him and hugged him. He sat there slightly stunned, while Sam struggled to keep a straight face at Dean's shocked expression.

Cara pulled back and blushed even harder than she had before. "That's great. I mean, you know, as long as you want to. I don't want to force you into it. But if you do, that's great." she realised she was rambling like an idiot and mentally kicked herself.

Dean just gave a slightly embarrassed smile of his own and shrugged awkwardly. "It's fine. I mean might as well finish what we started right?" he said and Cara nodded enthusiastically.

"Right." she said.

A slightly uncomfortable silence descended and Cara stood abruptly.

"Well I should go. I'm sure you have – things to do. Don't forget we've got the room for a couple of hours tomorrow afternoon, for a final practise. We'll need to sort out your outfit as well." she said and Sam snorted before he could stop himself.

Dean glared at him and Sam tried to turn it into a cough and nearly ended up choking himself. Dean ignored the spluttering and spoke directly to Cara.

"That's fine with me. Just lets be clear on the fact that there is no way I am wearing anything that has ever been near any spandex or lycra in it's entire life. I'm not kidding." he said and Cara rolled her eyes.

"For crying out loud! Fine, we'll make sure it's something nice and manly – that do you?" she said and Dean grinned at her.

"That sounds perfect."

"We can stop by the shop on the way to the hall - lets just hope they've got something left at this short notice. Listen, I'll meet you at the dance hall at 2pm tomorrow ok?" she said.

"Sure. I'll be there." said Dean.

Cara nodded and went over to the door. She stopped and looked back at both of them.

"Good luck for tonight. And you know, be careful." she said. Sam smiled at her.

"We will be." he said and Dean nodded.

Satisfied, Cara left the room and gave a brief wave as she pulled out of the parking lot.

Sam closed the door and turned to look at Dean.

"Well, that could have been worse." he said and Dean shook his head.

"Yeah, at least she's not calling the cops or getting us committed. And we now know who the lucky guy is who's bones we get to barbecue later."

"Dean! That was a person, dude, you could show a little respect you know." said Sam and Dean raised his eyebrows.

"Hey, that 'person' tried to break my neck if you remember. I'm taking this one personally." he said.

"That's a good point. Maybe I should take care of the bones myself, it doesn't exactly take two of us." said Sam, frowning.

"Oh no, not a chance Sammy. I drop the match on this one myself. Although we know you'll be safe at least." said Dean.

"Why's that?" said Sam and Dean smirked.

"Cos he only goes after men."

"Hilarious Dean. You just wait till he's kicking your ass tonight and you want me to save you. I'm just gonna sit there and laugh." said Sam.

"Yeah, whatever." said Dean, both of them knowing there was as much chance of Sam not helping Dean when he was in trouble as there was of the Impala sprouting wings.

As it turned out things went relatively smoothly. Sean did make an appearance as they were digging up his grave, but Dean was able to hold him off while Sam quickly salted and burned the bones. Aside from slightly bruised pride when the spirit threw him into the grave briefly, Dean walked away unscathed, which Sam considered a minor miracle in itself.

Back at the motel Sam flicked through the channels on the tv while Dean showered. He looked up as Dean came out of the bathroom, muttering about still finding dirt in his ears.

"So did you really mean it about the competition?" he said and Dean glanced over at him.

"Yeah I meant it. It'd be pretty mean to just leave Cara in the lurch, this stuff means a lot to her. Besides, it's not like we're ever coming back here so no one will ever know about it. Right Sam?" he said emphatically.

Sam grinned. "So I should take back the 'Team Dean' t-shirts I had made with the picture of ballet shoes on them?" he said innocently.

"You're a riot – just remember I have plenty of embarrassing stories about you memorised, so don't make me start repeating them to everyone we meet." said Dean as he got into bed.

Sam just ignored the threat and turned off the tv. Lying down he reached out and switched off the lamp. It was quiet for a brief moment.

"Night then, Fred Astaire."

"You'd better be sleeping with one eye open, Sammy."

_Author's note: So just one chapter to go.. This one was longer than expected but I promise we will get to the dance before the end! I hope everyone is still enjoying it and thanks so much for sticking with it despite it being a bit 'different'. That and the problems this site has been having for over a week now! 'rolls eyes'... :)_


	8. Chapter 8

The following day passed quite quickly in the end. Dean met up with Cara at 2pm, having spent the morning hanging out with Sam at a local coffee shop and trying _not _to think about what he'd actually agreed to do.

Sam, for all his teasing, knew Dean was genuinely nervous and had done his best to distract his brother, a fact which Dean appreciated even though he wasn't about to admit that.

Before they started the final practise session he and Cara headed over to the dance shop in the main street. Dean was actually pleasantly surprised by what they had and would even have gone so far as to say he quite liked the outfit they'd ended up buying.

Well, maybe not out loud.

But still, it did make him look kinda cool and was definitely manly which was of course the most important thing. Cara had insisted on paying, despite Dean's protests, as she kept saying he was only doing it as a favour to her anyway. She seemed in a much better mood than she had been and even seemed to have come to terms with the crash course she'd just had in 'ghosts and spirits'.

The last run through went really well and Dean even started to feel almost confident about the following day. Of course there was the minor detail that the next time they did the routine there would be a roomful of people watching them, not to mention the judging panel.

Ok, maybe confident was too strong a word.

When they finished Dean insisted that Cara joined him and Sam for dinner. They went to an old fashioned style diner in the middle of town that served 'home cooked food'. It certainly smelt pretty good.

"So, you're all set for tomorrow then?" said Sam, watching Dean to gauge his brother's current state of nerves.

Cara nodded. "Yeah, we're good to go. Dean did pretty well this afternoon as it happens."

Dean frowned. "Hey! You don't have to sound quite so surprised you know." he said indignantly and Cara held her hands up in surrender.

"I'm just saying – you're not exactly the dancer type, even you've got to admit that." she said.

"I thought we had this conversation about making assumptions?" said Dean and Cara put her hand on her chest dramatically.

"Ok, ok – you're right, I stand corrected." she said and Dean inclined his head in acknowledgement.

"If you two are quite done?" said Sam, watching them with an amused expression.

Dean smirked and took a sip of his coffee. Cara looked slightly embarrassed at being caught teasing with Dean and took a big gulp from her own drink.

"It's a shame the competition is sold out – I'd like to have seen my brother here showing off his killer moves." said Sam with a smirk.

Dean glared and kicked him under the table.

"Yeah, cos there was any chance I was gonna let you go anyway. It's bad enough total strangers watching me do this without giving you enough ammunition to last a lifetime." he said.

"Hey! I wouldn't have teased you about it." said Sam, rubbing his shin where Dean's boot had connected.

Dean raised his eyebrows and Sam's lips twitched. "Well, alright maybe a little bit. But seriously, I'd like to have seen you do this." he said genuinely and Dean shifted awkwardly.

"Well, you can't so it doesn't matter does it?" he said, getting up out of his chair. "Back in a minute."

Sam watched as Dean made his way to the men's room. Once his brother had disappeared through the door he glanced back at Cara.

"So he really is good?" he said and she grinned at him.

"You think he wouldn't be?" she said and Sam shook his head.

"It's not that it's just.. Look don't tell him I said this ok, but I'm just worried about him making a fool of himself up there. I mean, he may come across as being really confident but that kind of thing matters to him. He might not show it, but it would really bother him if he ended up looking like an idiot." he said anxiously.

Cara smiled. "You guys really are close aren't you?" she said and Sam flushed a little.

"Yeah, we are. It's just the two of us, so we kinda look out for each other. I just want this to go well for him." he said.

Cara grabbed her bag and fished around inside it. Looking round to make sure Dean wasn't on his way back, she reached across and handed something to Sam. He took it, looking down to see what it was. It was a ticket to the competition. He looked back up at her, confused.

"I thought it was sold out?" he said.

Cara shrugged. "It is, but the competitors get a ticket each for a partner or family to come along. Dean didn't get one cos he was a last minute entry, but you can use mine." she said.

"What about you? Don't you have someone coming to watch?"

Cara rolled her eyes. "I've been entering every year for the past 7 years, Sam. My Dad is sick of coming along to these things. He won't mind missing it, just this once. I think it's much more important for you to see your brother do this." she said simply.

Sam smiled at her, touched. "Thanks – I really appreciate it. Although I'm not sure Dean will." he said, putting the ticket in his pocket.

She grinned at him. "Yeah, well I'd sneak in at the last minute if I were you. What he doesn't know won't hurt him. You can confess afterwards, if it goes well. Which I have to say I think it will. He really is a pretty good mover."

Sam snorted. "For the love of God, do _not _tell him that. We'll never hear the end of it." he said.

At that moment Dean came back and the conversation moved away from the competition and onto lighter topics. Cara told them a little about herself and some of her stories had both of them in hysterics. They told her a few stories themselves, glossing over the more painful aspects and instead focusing on the good times. They all really enjoyed themselves and it worked to keep Dean's mind off the following day.

He slept fitfully that night, and so did Sam who was listening out for his brother and therefore woke up every time he did. Only Dean's threat to 'shoot him if he asked if he was ok one more time' persuaded Sam to go back to sleep for good.

The competition began at 1pm and Dean and Cara were last on the list. They were only competing in one category, as that was all there had been time to prepare for, so there would be a lot of waiting around. Dean was up early and ended up going for a run to clear his head. He actually felt better after the exercise and was up to getting a proper breakfast with Sam at the diner before he left. He kept his outfit in it's bag and resolutely refused to let Sam get a peek at it though.

Sam waved him off, wishing him luck, and worked out how long he should wait before making his own way to the dance hall. He was really pleased Cara had given him her ticket – he just hoped Dean wouldn't ruin the moment by killing him afterwards.

Inside the makeshift dressing rooms above the main hall Cara smoothed her hair down for about the hundredth time and looked anxiously in the mirror.

"Are you sure this looks alright?" she said and Dean rolled his eyes.

"For the love of God! You look fine Cara! Just like you did the other million times you've asked me. Geez, I thought I was the one who was supposed to be nervous?" he said.

She glared at him in the mirror. "Just because I've done this before doesn't mean I don't get nervous! There's some scouts for a dance troupe out there that I could really do with impressing." she said, reaching up to fiddle with her hair again.

Dean stepped up and leant against the desk that the mirror was resting on. Reaching out he grabbed hold of her hands and pulled them away from her hair.

"You're gonna be absolutely fine out there. You're really good at this stuff, even I know that. I'm the one who should be freaking out." he said with a grin.

Cara frowned. "You're right – why they hell aren't you freaking out?" she said and Dean just shrugged.

"No idea. I guess I just got a good feeling about this." he said.

Cara rolled her eyes. She suddenly realised Dean was still holding her hands. She blushed slightly as she glanced down at their joined hands and then back up at Dean. He just flashed her his killer smile and gently let go.

Cara wondered if someone had just turned up the heating.

Turning back to the mirror to try and hide her sudden embarrassment she retouched make up that didn't need it and tried to breathe deeply and calm her nerves. Dean had moved from his spot next to her and was now leaning casually against the window sill. Ever since they'd arrived he'd earned more than a few appreciative glances from the other female competitors. Cara found herself torn between pride that it was her Dean was dancing with and a sudden surge of unexpected jealousy.

It was a seriously good thing that this was just a one off, she thought.

One of the stewards suddenly poked his head around the door.

"Carson and Anderson – you're up next." he called.

Dean gave a wave of acknowledgement as Cara had frozen in her seat. Walking over he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Ready?" he said gently and she gave him a wobbly smile.

"Not in the slightest." she said as she got up.

Standing behind the makeshift curtain that separated the backstage area from the main hall Cara took a deep breath. She cleared her mind of everything except the routine. She pushed aside thoughts of the crowd and the judges and just focused on the moves, visualising them in her head. Dean took his own deep breath beside her and swallowed. He could do this. He'd faced some of the worst things imaginable in his lifetime. This was just a few people, watching him run through a routine he knew backwards by now. He glanced at Cara and smiled as he took her hand. She smiled back and then their names were being announced. They stepped out onto the darkened dance floor and got into the first position.

As the beginning guitar movement to Shakira's 'Whenever, Wherever' started to play, they moved in time to the rhythm. As if connected their steps were perfectly in time, each a reflection of the other. They moved fast, never missing a beat, and they seemed to fly across the floor.

In his seat Sam stared in awe. For a start both Cara and Dean looked amazing. Cara was wearing a dark green dress that had sparkling diamonds all over the bodice. The skirt flowed around her legs and came to just above her knee. Her dark hair was swept up with just a few curls framing her face. Dean's outfit was a tightly fitted black shirt, slightly open at the neck, and a pair of black trousers that flared only slightly at the bottom. Definitely no spandex or lycra in sight. Even Sam had to admit his brother carried off the look extremely well. Dean's face was relaxed as he performed the moves with a grace Sam had never noticed before. Sure, Dean was good at fighting moves, but this – this was different. It was a side of Dean Sam had never seen before and he was both slightly stunned and more than a little proud. He might not know much about dancing, but Sam knew Cara and Dean were good. Really, really good.

The rest of the audience was watching in rapt attention too and Sam felt his stomach clench with nerves, praying that the judges could see what he could see. He knew that they couldn't win, having only competed in one category, but they could possibly get as high as Silver. Sam found himself crossing everything and biting his lip he was so nervous.

As the music slowed slightly towards the end, Dean lowered Cara back in one arm and swept her round as they span almost 180 degrees. Her hair was almost touching the floor but the move was calculated and performed perfectly. As the tempo picked up again he pulled her back up and she spun away from him. Continuing the flawless moves they both swept across the floor, separately but completely in tune with one another. As the song finally came to an end Dean picked Cara up and span round holding her above his head with apparent ease. At the last moment the both dropped to the floor and leant forward so their heads were almost touching the ground as the final pan pipe notes died away.

For a brief moment there was silence and then the entire audience began to applaud. Sam actually stood up, whistling and whooping as he clapped. Standing now to take a bow, Dean's head rose sharply and he looked straight at where Sam was standing. He was stunned to see his brother there, clapping and grinning like a lunatic, practically bouncing with excitement. Cara tugged his hand and he remembered to bow gracefully to the judges and then to the audience.

As soon as they were behind the curtain again Cara launched herself at Dean.

"Oh my God, that was amazing! You got every move right, it was perfect!" she squealed breathlessly.

Dean laughed, her enthusiasm was infectious, and he hugged her back caught in the moment.

"I know, it was good, but I need to breathe here Cara." he said and she let go, flushing a little.

"Sorry, it's just that was better than anything I've done before." she said and Dean ducked his head.

"Seriously?" he said, sounding almost shy.

Cara rolled her eyes and whacked him lightly on the arm.

"Yes, seriously you idiot." she said and Dean smirked.

"Now that's more like it. It scares me when you're nice to me." he said dryly and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Now, do you mind telling me what the hell my brother is doing in the audience?" he said, as they moved back to stand with the other entrants.

"Sam's here? Guess he must have been able to get a ticket after all." said Cara, innocently.

Dean wasn't buying it. "Yeah right – like you don't know where he got it from." he said but Cara refused to admit anything.

The one advantage to being almost last was that they didn't have too long to wait. Soon the awards were being announced. They both stood there on the dance floor with everyone else, tapping their feet discreetly, as the various awards were given out. Finally they were down to the overall medals. Cara was gripping Dean's hand so hard he was fairly certain he was going to have bruises.

The Bronze award was announced first and there was applause as the the lucky couple stepped up and collected their medals. There was a flash as the photographer for the local paper took their picture and then they moved to one side with the other winners.

"This is the last one we could possibly win." hissed Cara and her grip somehow managed to get even tighter.

Dean wondered just how much pressure the bones in your hand could take before they cracked.

Trying to ignore the throbbing he tuned back into the judge's voice.

"And the Silver award for best overall performance goes to – Cara Carson and Dean Anderson." he said.

Dean blinked. Had he heard that properly?

Cara was the first to react. "Oh my God – that's us!" she squeaked, pulling Dean forward to collect the medals.

Dean was truly stunned. The applause was deafening and he was sure he could make out Sam whooping like an idiot. Turning his head he was just about able to see past the lights and spotted Sam literally jumping up and down.

They were so not related.

He was just about with it enough to accept the judge's congratulations and he remembered to duck his head slightly so that the photographer didn't get a full view of his face for the picture. You couldn't be too careful after all when you were on the FBI's hitlist.

And then it was over and they were standing to one side with the other winners. A few of them offered congratulations and Dean just smiled and nodded, almost on auto pilot. He really couldn't believe they'd come second. It was crazy, a Winchester coming second in a dance competition. He briefly wondered what John and Mary would have made of it and found himself feeling unexpectedly emotional about it. Swallowing he turned his gaze to Cara. Her face was literally lit up. She was glowing. Sensing Dean looking at her she turned to him and gave him a dazzling smile. There was no time for conversation as the overall winners were being announced finally and they clapped along with everyone else.

And then it was over. The judges made their way round all the winners, congratulating them, and friends and family of the various entrants were swarming towards them with exclamations of excitement and congratulatory hugs.

Dean felt almost swept away by the whole thing and more than a little self conscious. He wasn't used to this many people or this much attention. Suddenly he heard a familiar voice though.

"Dean!"

He looked up to see Sam fighting his way through the crowd towards them, the biggest smile ever on his face.

"That was awesome dude!" said Sam when he finally reached them and before Dean could stop him, Sam grabbed him in a quick hug. His excitement was infectious though and Dean found himself grinning as well.

Although he was so going to kill his brother later for hugging him in public.

Sam was oblivious to his imminent demise and had moved on to hug Cara, picking her up and swinging her round. She laughed and swatted him lightly on the shoulder as he put her down again.

"Sam! God, you're more excited about this than he is!" she said indicating Dean.

"Hey! I'm excited." said Dean "I'm just not all over emotional about it like Samantha here." he said, nudging Sam with his shoulder.

Sam just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Seriously, that was fantastic. You guys were great out there." he said.

Dean found himself blushing at the blatant pride in Sam's voice and on his face. He wasn't used to it, but he had to admit it was a pretty good feeling. Even if it was only because of something as lame as dancing.

"Don't think I haven't forgotten you're not even supposed to be here." he said, not wanting the moment to get too emotional.

Sam shook his head. "Yeah, well – you didn't really expect me to miss it did you?" he said and Dean didn't really have an answer for that.

Now the excitement was over they quickly went back up to the room where their stuff was and got changed into their normal clothes again. Dean felt much more himself back in his jeans, t-shirt and shirt but he put the other outfit back in the bag. No harm in keeping it. Just in case.

Cara still looked lovely with her hair up and her eyes sparkling, even dressed in jeans and a shirt again. Dean found himself suddenly regretting that they had to leave so soon.

Outside in the cool late afternoon air, the Impala was waiting. Sam had already checked them out of the motel and their stuff was in the trunk. Dean opened it and dropped the bag with his outfit in, almost daring Sam to make a comment. His brother was wise enough to remain silent though.

Cara stood there, feeling slightly awkward now it was all over.

"So." she said.

"Yeah." said Dean.

Sam rolled his eyes. Yep – definitely too alike.

Taking the initiative Sam leant forward and gave Cara a quick peck on the cheek.

"Congratulations again – you take care, ok? And if you ever have any problems of the paranormal kind, you know who to call." he said.

Cara smiled. "Who needs the Ghostbusters when you've got the Winchesters?" she said and gave Sam a quick hug.

"Thanks for the ticket." Sam whispered in her ear and she grinned at him.

Sam got in the car to give Dean and Cara some privacy.

"Well, thanks for everything Dean." she said sincerely. "This really meant a lot to me and I owe you one for taking part – I know it wasn't exactly your idea of fun."

Dean shrugged."It wasn't that bad. Actually, I kinda enjoyed it." he said and she smiled at him.

"That's good. If you ever want to give it another go, you know where to find me." she said and Dean smiled.

"Yeah, maybe. And thanks for your help with the spirit – you did us a real favour there." he said and Cara smiled shyly.

"No problem. You be careful ok? Look after each other." she said seriously.

"We will." said Dean with equal seriousness.

Seizing the moment Cara quickly hugged Dean and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, even though it made her blush furiously again.

"You give me a call next time you're passing through." she said, stepping back and Dean nodded.

"We will. Good luck with the dancing." he said and she grinned at him.

Dean got into the driver's seat and they both waved at Cara until the parking lot was out of sight. She watched them go a little sadly, hoping she'd see them again some day.

In the car Sam still couldn't stop grinning. Dean glanced across at him and rolled his eyes.

"Would you wipe that sappy look off your face?" he said and Sam shook his head.

"Can't help it – I really am proud of you, Dean. That was awesome." he said and Dean looked embarrassed.

"It was no big deal." he said awkwardly.

"Yes it was. I know you really didn't want to do it, but you did it so you wouldn't let Cara down. And you were amazing at it. You did a good job on this one." said Sam firmly.

Dean looked even more embarrassed but he also felt warmed by Sam's words. There was no need to go overboard though, and just to make sure of that Dean reached out and switched on the radio. AC/DC blasted out and Sam rolled his eyes, knowing Dean was making sure there was no further conversation about what had just happened.

He'd said what he wanted to say though and he was more than grateful to Cara that she'd enabled him to be part of Dean's triumph.

Settling back into his seat he glanced across at Dean who was now singing along to the track, but still with a slightly pleased look on his face.

Sam was glad they'd taken this job, glad he'd talked Dean into the competition, and glad that his brother had been able to show his talents at something other than hunting and be recognised for it, for once. Everyone deserved a moment like that and he was glad he'd been there to share it with Dean. And it just showed – even when you'd known someone your whole life they could still turn out to have hidden talents.

Sam hoped he'd get many more years to find out what others his brother had. In the meantime, he'd settle for making sure the silver medal and the memories were kept safe. For both of them.

_Author's note: And we're done! Hope the description of Dean's dancing was worth the wait and hope you all enjoyed how it turned out. I really struggled with this one, as it was so out of the ordinary for the boys, but I hope it was ok in the end. _

_And once again, happy birthday Joeysgirl4eva – the ending of your 'present' was only a week after the event, so that wasn't too bad – right? :)_


End file.
